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James-A-Palooza Recap

January 15, 2014

L-S’s favorite son James Wolpert (class of 2009) visited each of the school buildings on Friday, January 10, and caused quite a stir at each one. The entire L-S community rallied behind James during his time on The Voice, watching every show and voting for him by phone, text, web and social media. We would like to believe we even played a role in his Twitter Instant Save. So we were thrilled when he contacted the district asking if he could come by and thank everyone for their support.

Here's a recap of his time at L-S:

Hans Herr Elementary

James and his sister Rachel (class of 2012) were ushered in through a side door while the entire student body waited in the gym for a special assembly. But by the sound of the crowd it was pretty obvious everyone knew exactly what was about to happen. James was met with thunderous applause and put on a great show, singing several songs and answering questions from Mrs. Dodson.

Martin Meylin Middle School

Mr. Raum called everyone to the gym for a school-wide meeting, which began as if the students were in for a lecture. “I’m not happy,” he said before opening the door for James, “I’m ecstatic!” The crowd went wild as James sang and answered questions from the crowd, including his which teams he'd been on in middle school. Things got a little wild on the way out, as students dismissed and swarmed him to say hello.

Lampeter-Strasburg High School

But it turns out we didn’t know what wild was. James entered the PAC to cheers, high-fiving with students as he came down the aisle. He took the stage, singing and talking to students about following their dreams. Then he opened the floor to questions. The second was “Can I get a selfie”? James agreed and was quickly surrounded by sea of students and their phones.

Lampeter Elementary

James descended the stairs to the cafeteria at Lampeter to the cheers of the young crowd. Mrs. Ditzler emceed his performance and took questions from students. Afterward, he stayed for pictures with students and staff alike; even taking time to stop and meet with the School Aged Child Care group. One young girl held his guitar case, shook his hand and announced that she’d never wash her arm again.

And later that night

James showed up at the PAC to catch Martin Meylin production of Willy Wonka Jr. He talked to the cast during intermission and stayed after the show to meet with fans.

Thanks so much to James for taking time to visit us! It’s a day we won’t soon forget. If you would like to hear more from James, be sure to come to one of his shows at the American Music Theater. He will perform there with fellow Voice contestant Cole Vosbury on February 15 and 16, 2014.